Apple could lose one of its top suppliers of OLED panels for the iPhone after the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) found that Chinese manufacturer BOE violated federal trade secret laws, MacRumors reports.
According to the ITC, BOE and seven of its subsidiaries illegally obtained trade secrets from Samsung Display used in the manufacture of its displays, in violation of Section 337 of the U.S. Customs Act. The ITC is recommending that imports of BOE OLED displays be prohibited and that the products already imported be removed from the U.S. market.
In Apple's case, BOE is responsible for supplying about 20% of all OLED displays for the iPhone 16 smartphone line, which equates to about 100 million panels each year. Among other things, BOE has a separate factory in China where panels are produced exclusively for Apple starting with the iPhone 12.
If the ban goes into effect, BOE's position will likely be taken over by alternative suppliers such as Samsung and LG. At the same time, it will not have an effect on Apple devices available in the US that use panels from the Chinese manufacturer.
The final decision on BOE and its subsidiaries will be published in November. The probability that the ban will come into force is quite high. Analysts note that such decisions are rarely overturned.
In addition to the alleged misappropriation of Samsung Display's trade secrets, there are five other ongoing patent infringement lawsuits between China's BOE and the South Korean company. BOE recently filed an additional lawsuit involving the Galaxy Fold5, Fold6, and S25 Ultra smartphones. The lawsuits focus on technologies related to encapsulation films to enhance display strength, display circuits, under-display cameras (UDCs), and pixel control circuits.